November saw a slowdown in growth for the UK’s retailers, despite the abundance of ‘Black Friday’ sales on the high street.
The figures for November disappointed after a mega October, but were boosted by the extensive sales at the end of the month. The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium showed total spending rose by a year-on-year rate of 1.3 percent, significantly slower than October’s 2.4 percent.
However not all retailers benefited from the American Black Friday phenomenon, said British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson:
“Retailers of goods that don’t traditionally benefit from the event, such as clothing, saw weaker Black Friday week sales this year, but made the most of the increased online traffic in the weeks building up to the 25th November by offering promotions to capture shoppers browsing for early bargains.”
“With an extra weekend to shop for Christmas this year, nerves will be tested in December as retailers choose their strategies to attract the last minute gift shoppers.”
Non-food retail sales in the UK fared slightly better, rising 1.5 percent on a like-for-like basis and 1.7 percent on a total basis. These figures remain faster than the 1.4 percent 12-month average.
Non-food online sales rose by 10.9 percent in November year-on-year, just ahead of the 10.7 percent three-month run-rate. Online sales boosted the figures, with 27.6 percent of non-food sales made online.
The figures were a decline on October’s strong sales, but remained stronger than the average for 2016. Consumer spending has propped up the economy in the wake of the country’s vote to leave the European Union in June, but November’s figures for both the manufacturing and the construction industry also remained positive.